This invention relates to a medical diagnostic ultrasound system and method for three dimensional (3D) imaging. In particular, an image of structure in a body is rendered from data representing three dimensions.
For 3D ultrasound imaging, ultrasound data representing a volume within the body is collected. The ultrasound data comprises B-mode or Doppler mode data. For example, color Doppler data is collected in a series of frames of data representing two dimensional (2D) areas of the body. The frames of data are registered relative to other frames of data. The image is surface or volume rendered from the data registered to represent the volume.
One technique for rendering provides for virtual endoscopy. In virtual endoscopy, color Doppler images represent the point of view of the user as if moving through a structure within the body. The user may better appreciate the internal structure of vessels or better identify areas of stenosis. However, color Doppler data has poor spatial resolution, so little detail about the texture of the structure is provided. Furthermore, the lighting model used is typically chosen arbitrarily. As a result, the displayed structural representation shows the geometry but provides poor textural representation. For example, some plaque may not be visible or represented in the images.
The present invention is defined by the following claims, and nothing in this section should be taken as a limitation on those claims. By way of introduction, the preferred embodiment described below includes a method and system for mapping surface data onto a geometrical representation of a structure for 3D imaging. A boundary of a structure is determined from one type of data, such as Doppler energy data. Another type of data, such as B-mode data, representing the boundary or a volume adjacent the boundary is extracted or identified. The B-mode data is then rendered as a function of the boundary, such as by texture mapping the B-mode data onto or adjacent the boundary. As the user examines the structure representation, the texture mapped data may provide texture details based on an optimally determined representation.
In a first aspect, a medical diagnostic ultrasound method for mapping data for three-dimensional imaging is provided. A boundary is determined from a set of a first type of data representing a three dimensional region. An image is rendered from a set of a second type of data representing the three-dimensional region as a function of the boundary. A system for performing this aspect includes boundary and 3D image processors.
In a second aspect, a medical diagnostic ultrasound method for mapping data for three-dimensional imaging is provided. A boundary is determined from a set of Doppler data representing a three dimensional region. Data from a set of B-mode data representing the three-dimensional region is texture mapped onto the boundary. An image is rendered as a function of the texture mapping.
Further aspects and advantages of the invention are discussed below in conjunction with the preferred embodiments.